Forgery and impersonation on the Internet • Financial exploitation, espionage, false love and heartache

The internet age has opened up a new world of possibilities for us, including opportunities for new social connections, for finding love and emotional closeness. The digital platforms allow us to communicate with people from all over the world, but along with these benefits, also come dangers. One of the main threats is the phenomenon of impersonation and emotional and financial exploitation.

Innocent people looking for love often find themselves victims of romance scams. The imposters create fictitious profiles and use them to get into the hearts of the victims. Initially, they develop a deep emotional bond and convince the victims that they have found the love of their life.

Once trust is built, imposters begin asking for financial help under various pretexts, such as a medical emergency, unexpected debts, or investment opportunities. The victims, out of trust and yearning for a connection, agree to help and hand over considerable sums of money, not knowing that they are going down the drain.

"I thought I found the love of my life online," says a woman who fell victim to such a scam. "I felt a real closeness, but in the end, he disappeared with all the money I sent him."

Stories like this are common and illustrate the pain and betrayal the victims experience. Sometimes, the harm is not only financial, but also emotional, when the victims discover that the relationship that was supposed to be based on love and trust, was actually a well-planned fraud operation.

To avoid falling victim to such scams, it is important to be vigilant and pay attention to suspicious signs. For example, sudden financial requests, reluctance to meet face to face or stories that do not match reality. In addition, you should always check the details that the person shares, and try to verify their truth by other means.

Financial exploitation in the name of love

Online romance scams are a painful and sensitive phenomenon that hurts innocent people looking for love. It is important to be aware of the dangers, act carefully and use available tools to verify the reliability of the people with whom we communicate. This way we can protect ourselves and reduce the risk of emotional and financial exploitation.

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in cases in which both women and men fall victim to impersonators on the Internet. Those imposters create fictitious profiles on social networks and dating sites, presenting themselves as perfect people - often handsome, successful and understanding men. They develop emotional bonds with the victims, and build trust over time. Once the relationship is strengthened, the imposters take advantage of this trust to ask for funds under various pretexts, such as a family emergency, heavy debts or an urgent business investment.

Michal, a 34-year-old woman from Tel Aviv, met a man named "David" on a popular dating site. David presented himself as a successful and handsome businessman, who was genuinely interested in her. After several weeks of daily conversations and correspondence, David told Michal that he was in a financial emergency due to a failed deal, and asked her for a temporary loan to save his business. Out of trust and love, Michal transferred him the sum of NIS 50,000. Unfortunately, shortly after, David disappeared, and Michal discovered that she had been the victim of a scam.

Not only women fall victim. Many men also face a similar phenomenon, when female impersonators create fictitious profiles and present themselves as young, beautiful women looking for love. They manage to arouse a strong emotion in men, and after a short period, they ask for financial assistance. Here too, the excuses are varied and include urgent medical help, financial support or a potential business offer.

Jonathan received a series of photos that the girl he had been talking to for the past few weeks had sent him. A humble and gentle girl and the photos showed that she is so beautiful and just doesn't know her self worth. She told him that her financial situation was tight and he decided to support her and pay the debts she had fallen into. But it didn't seem like it was over. Each time another debt and another financial obligation was discovered and at some point Yonatan started to feel taken advantage of. In all this time they have not met.

She lives in the far south and he lives in the north and it would be good for both of them to make a phone call from a distance and imagine the future meeting. But at this point Jonathan decided to tell her that he could not continue to transfer such sums, that maybe it was time for her to go to work and start taking responsibility for her debts. The beautiful girl reacted as if offended and asked to break the relationship immediately. Jonathan was very sorry, he fell in love with her, he didn't want to lose her and was ready to commit to loans just so she wouldn't leave him.

When I met him he was on his way to take the loan. We went through her messages together, the photos she sent him, the information, and tried to cross check data to verify if she was real and if there really was such a woman who needed his help. What Jonathan discovered broke his heart. He discovered that the photos she sent him were copied from a French fashion website. He found out that the data she sent him was not in line with reality, he found out that she did not really exist but was pretending to get more and more money out of him.

The lover who was revealed to be a 16-year-old minor

A book came to me that she fell in love with a man through the Internet. She didn't know him and he asked her for friends on Facebook. After some time during an exciting and intimate communication, she felt that she was falling in love with him. He presented everything that an ideal lover has to present - he cares about her, he worries about her, he has some weakness that he needs her help, attentive to her advice, flattering, and the whole thing carried her away and wrapped her around him until there was neither day nor night and for any number of hours Mishon spoke through Facebook and communication apps. All this time it was without a camera.

At first it was the camera that was broken, then I can't turn on the camera because it would disturb the owners of the apartment where I live, after all he is inside the secret space of the American army and he is not allowed to operate a camera, so he also talks to her in a whisper so that they don't catch him talking to her, he He just can't help but long for her, so he breaks the rules and makes contact. He would send her pictures, and she fell in love. After a while, she asked to know where he was. She had a feeling that something wasn't real there, she doesn't know exactly what caused this feeling but she thought they should meet to make sure that this is indeed the person she fell in love with.

When she met him, she discovered to her astonishment that he was a 16-year-old boy. The one who conducted conversations like a man among men, and led a love life with her through writing, turned out to be a minor. This is a very shameful business not to mention criminal. Since his parents found out about the connections he had, and since they realized that the women - and not just bad ones - were victims of his lies, they made sure to give the address for the meeting so that the truth would be revealed. She was shocked. The boy pretended to be an adult, had affairs and satisfied his curiosity about the world of relationships, and the parents, who saw her reaction, realized that this was not the exploitation of a minor, but a tangle of lies that their son had created.

Fortunately for her, they agreed not to file a complaint. The immense shame, the embarrassment, the broken heart on the one hand and the realization that she fell in love with a lie, with a fantasy, caused her a painful experience that is difficult for her to let go of. Empty love she told me, and since then it's hard to believe and hard to trust.  

There are other stories, about men who impersonate American soldiers who are in a far away country with no way to reach their bank account and all they need is for you to send them a few thousand dollars so they can survive the period, and of course they promise to pay you back and come visit as soon as they can, and then they disappear, along with your money Sometimes it's long months of communication, love and passion and all in the dark, without a camera or with a silhouette that is photographed in the dark so that it's not really possible to see who you're talking to.

The words are slippery, the expressions of love melt the heart and in the end, also melt the bank account, and the one who falls between the words of flattery and the power of love, believes and is ready to give him everything he asks because he is her lover, her soul mate, and his plight hurts her so much that she is willing to put herself into obligations, the main thing is for him to be happy.

A con artist pretending to be a perfect woman

There are also women on the net who impersonate themselves, women who present themselves with photos that are not theirs, as if they are at least top models, and all they need is a little money or a lot of money, to pay for studies, medicine, travel, to save their lives from someone they owe, and other Lies to get money from the man in love. Here, too, the speech is one of empowerment, almost admiration, listening and apparently consultation and agreement, all to give the unfortunate man who fell into their net the feeling that he has finally found the woman of his dreams, whether she is the one who radiates embracing softness, obedience and admiration, or whether she is the motherly woman, the beautiful lady in control, Or any other character that the impersonator feels that this man needs, to feel that she is full of love for him, and immediately He will fall in love with her, open his wallet and give her the best of his money.

Each time a different sting is published online, as individual hunters wait for an opportunity to wrap the web of lies around them. The Nigerian sting is one of the more famous, a financial fraud that came as a message to the e-mail, a request for money to release prisoners or to give a bribe, while promising to receive a high return, then there was the matter of the inheritance sting, in which an e-mail was sent announcing that another of the world's richest people wants to give you that you have the Same last name as him, all his money, just transfer account details and signature.

Of course the stingers will empty the account and take out loans that you will find yourself signing. The emotional stingers have also been on the networks for a long time, people who tell lies designed to build a feeling of love that has nothing behind it, and to create an illusion of happiness and passion that will lead to robbery. If you open the requests and check the person's profile, you can discover foreign names, a new profile, two or three pictures - with a dog, with a child, with a yacht, with a pilot's or doctor's suit, and pictures of objects and landscapes so as not to recognize the person. Sometimes you will find among the friends of the same profile people from Africa, Arab countries, sometimes women, many women from all over the world. Maybe even your girlfriends who innocently confirmed the conversations with him.

A Shin Bet man or a crook in love

The next story is weirder. Many years ago a woman came to me and said she met a guy online. They would meet at her place on the days the children were at the divorcee's, and according to her they had a nice time. He asked her not to call, said he would get in touch when he could, because he was from the Shin Bet and he couldn't take calls. Once every few weeks he called, they met and he disappeared again on a mission. Since she was newly divorced with two children, it was convenient for her.

At a certain moment she decided that she wanted more from the relationship, that she had recovered from the divorce and that she wanted a new, stable and complete relationship. She asked to see him more, to come to his apartment, to meet him in his space, but he told her that he was from the Shin Bet, that his apartment was under surveillance and so was his bank account, so there is no possibility of her coming. In general, his financial situation is stressed because the Shin Bet closed his account Until the mission is over, and she needs to start paying for their exits and if possible also transfer some cash to him until they release his accounts. He spoke in a low voice, with a very serious face, and she believed.

Yes, he is from the Shin Bet, she insisted, that's why there are no photos of him on the Internet and he doesn't have a profile anywhere, he's hidden. She transferred him a small amount and said that she didn't have any more to grieve, so she couldn't give it to him, and since she was already a limited customer at the bank, she couldn't take Borrow for him as he made sure to ask her.

The days passed, they continued to meet once every few weeks, and all this time he refused to tell her his full name and where he lived. Somehow she managed to take a look at a medical document that was in his coat pocket, and her real name and area of ​​residence were revealed to her. Since she fell deeply in love with him, she believed everything he told her. As far as she is concerned, he is an undercover Shin Bet member, so she identified herself under a false name, and in fact his account is confidential, so he does not spend money.

She decided to take it further, tracked down his address and arrived at his door unannounced. It was lunch time. She rang the bell and he opened the door in his underwear, panicked he tried to close but she was already inside. The apartment turned out to be the apartment of partners who literally happened not to be at home that day. I'm not feeling well so I stayed home, he said half apologetically, trying to blur the reality.

She didn't argue, offered to make him a cup of tea, and he said she had to go but he would invite her another time. So she left, because she believed his every word. Blind love, innocent faith, and he who promised, is gone. She didn't hear from him for a whole year. The phone was disconnected, the apartment where she met him was locked, and her heart was shattered into little pieces. It took her a while to heal her wounded heart, and even though she realized that something was wrong here, she loved him very much and still believed everything he said. Maybe something happened to him, maybe he was caught, I'm sure he didn't disappear of his own accord. He told me that he loves me, that I'm his one, that he's probably been looking for me all his life and now that he's found me, he won't give me up.

A year passed and miraculously, after a year he suddenly appeared. He said that he left the Shin Bet, that he had a regular job, that he rented a small apartment, and that he would like to renew the relationship, because she was the love of his life. He promised that this time it would be a real relationship, with real names and it would lead to a life together. And they did start a real relationship. She promised not to ask about the Shin Bet and he of course said he would never be able to tell her.

What was really there? Did he go on a one-year mission? Was he hospitalized in a psychiatric institution? Did he lie and it took him a while to realize that he loves her too? Not really clear. On the face of it, the very fact that he told a woman he just knew that he was in the Shin Bet raises doubts as to whether he was telling the truth. People who serve in the Shin Bet are not in a hurry to identify themselves. Even senior officers are not in a hurry to declare their rank, so when you meet a guy and the first thing he says is I'm a senior officer and I'm in the Shin Bet and the photos on his profile look fake, with a view that conveys financial wealth and ostentatiousness, or an excessive love for animals, it seems that this profile is fake or an impostor .

Impersonation for political and commercial purposes 

The ability to hide behind a screen and keyboard makes it very easy to create a false identity and exploit the weaknesses of the other participants to influence them. Every once in a while, espionage and intelligence gathering cases are published with the help of fake profiles. Sometimes it's the Chinese, sometimes the Russians, other times it's enemy countries and terrorist organizations. It starts with friendships, then with apparent conversations about topics in the headlines, and among other things, a kind of fishing for information, data and geographic locations begins, as part of the supposedly friendly discourse processes. The victims of you crooks and forgers who serve hostile intelligence systems, are sure that they are developing true friendships with real people and never imagine that they are tools in the hands of hostile intelligence.

In the same way, industrial espionage also takes place when connections are made with key personnel and laboratory personnel, and during conversation and discussion, data is provided that reveals important information. The fake profiles also serve political purposes, protesting against the government and slandering the opponents of the government. Each side and its fake profiles that encourage division and incitement.

In 2022 it turned out that fake profiles participated in over 1200 different groups, where they tried to influence the mindset of the group and its political tone. This is also the case with groups of Israelis abroad in which over a million people participate. In those groups, members openly talk about their opinions and thoughts, and it is easier to reach them and influence them.

It is not always possible to know who is behind the fake or impersonating profile. According to the content it is possible to understand what it is about, if the person declares himself to be a big supporter of Israel but during the conversation introduces the content of a terrorist organization, or talks about feelings and sensitivities and asks to help bring peace between enemy countries and Israel by sharing information, then it is likely that this is a hostile entity that activates the profile.

On November 23, the IDF exposed a network of fake users who tried to get IDF soldiers to hand over information and intended to pass the information on to the terrorist organizations. Sophistication is increasing. If there were fake profiles that were not behind them by a real person, then nowadays information is copied from existing profiles, pictures are changed and an imposter profile is made, one that is much more difficult to identify as not being real.

The major who tried to hook an Israeli

Yael began to correspond with someone who introduced himself as a major in the US Army who serves in a nearby country and intends to visit Israel. He wrote to her that he thought she was nice and thought it would be nice to travel together and for her to get to know the country for him. The correspondence continued, and after about a month of daily correspondence, Yael felt that she was starting to relate to the guy and was really looking forward to a conversation with him. "He compliments me, he tells me about his life, and we click. I have no other way to explain it, I'm starting to fall in love," she told me in those days.

The warnings didn't help, she claimed it wasn't harmful, it was just pleasant. But then he asked her to book rooms for them, to organize a trip for them, he promised to come and give his share and wrote her the flight number on which he would arrive so she could pick him up from the airport. She booked a luxurious hotel in the Dead Sea and the next day she intended to go to the airport to welcome him. While she was excitedly counting the hours to the meeting, she received a message from him that he was stuck in a field in Greece and his credit was canceled for an unknown reason.

He asked you to transfer him a thousand dollars so that he could purchase a plane ticket and arrange his arrival. He promised that the loan would be taken care of as soon as he landed in Israel. And she, who was so excited, transferred the amount he asked for to the account number he told her. But then another message arrived in which he explains that because of his ex-wife blocking his account, his boarding is being delayed until he transfers an additional amount to her to allow him to leave and to guarantee that he will return and continue to pay the alimony.

A somewhat convoluted story, but she, who had gone through a difficult divorce herself, knew that it could be, that there might be truth in his story. In the next message he wrote that he would not come to Israel, because he had already delayed his flight, and now the base is asking him to report because there is an emergency and he has to go to his unit, and he hopes that she, his true love, will get him out of the terrible mud that his horrible ex-wife got him into.

At this point, Yael began to understand that it was an impostor. She said she would not be able to transfer any more money to him. He tried to coax her and then disappeared. His profile disappeared from the web, and she never heard from him again. When she went through the photos he sent her during the conversations, she discovered by searching the Internet that there were other people with similar photos. "I'm neither stupid nor naive. He just knew how to say the right words that would touch my heart and open my wallet. It's lucky that the sums are not large, because if he asked for more I would have passed. I didn't think simply. I went with my heart. What do I offer to other women "A relationship is not a bank. Don't talk, listen, love. When you say you don't give money, the pretenders disappear."

How to spot a fake profile

Online love can be real and exciting, but it's important to remember that it can also be a dangerous trap. Take care of yourself, be vigilant and don't let anyone take advantage of your feelings or money. Remember that true love does not require payments or financial sacrifices.

How do you identify? How do you avoid becoming a victim of imposters? How do you know if this profile that wants to join is a real person or an impostor? It's not easy, but if the picture looks too beautiful to you, the information is not reliable, the content on the impostor's pages is copied content, without self-expression, if everything looks too cute, with excess information and excess photo captions, if the person who offers to be your friend has written something to you Sticky and unreliable like the one I received this week - "I follow your profile and I like you very much."

If it is not difficult for you to offer me friendship on Facebook so that we can get to know each other in depth", then it is likely that this is an impostor who is trying to invade your sites, take your credit information from the page, in short, wants to do harm. Sometimes you will see that your friends have already accepted his friendship offer. This is the time Ask them if they know him, if he is a real person or just a Facebook character.

When it's real there is no hiding. The name is real, the photos are real, the camera is open and the meeting is between two people who are willing to reveal themselves to each other without exploitation. The pictures of those fake profiles are made by artificial intelligence software and it is very difficult to distinguish that it is not a real person. In the profiles of those fakes you can find a lot of information, most of it is copied from different websites, which apparently, the owner of the profile conceived and created.

• Beware of too perfect photos: Profiles with photos that look too professional or perfect, may be fake.
• Check the information: Search for the name, photos or information provided by the person on Google or social media. Often, it is possible to find out if it is an impostor.
• Beware of money requests: any money transfer request should turn on a red light. Especially if she comes too early in the relationship.
• Keep personal information: Do not share personal, security, political, business or financial information with people you know only through the Internet.